Loubieh bzeit

Ingredients

Beans

• 800 ggreen beans
• topped and tailed
• cut into lengths

The pot

• 150 mlolive oil
• 2onions, sliced
• 8garlic cloves, sliced
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 1 teaspoonground allspice, optional
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• about 200 ml water
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• juice of 1 lemon
• more olive oil, to drizzle
• a handful of parsley, chopped

To serve

• at room temperature
• flatbread
• as part of a mezze
• during Lent

Directions

1. Top and tail all the green beans. Pull off any strings along the sides. Cut them into lengths of a few centimetres. Both of them are done in Lebanon.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them slowly over a medium heat. Give them a good ten full minutes. Add the sliced garlic to the onions. Cook it for about two minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée with them. Add the allspice if you are using it. Add the measured sugar to the pot. A teaspoon is enough for this quantity.
4. Let them cook for about eight minutes. They should break down completely. Oil should separate at the edges. Add the green beans to the pot. Turn them through the tomato and oil. Season them with salt and black pepper. Add the measured water to the pot. Too much gives a watery sauce. Add more later only if it dries out.
5. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it cook for about forty minutes. Forty minutes is not too long. Stir it gently every ten minutes. Do not stir it hard at any point. Turn them over rather than stirring. Judging when it is done takes a taste.
6. Oil should be visible around them. Reduce it uncovered if it is watery. Take the pot right off the heat. Squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. It keeps its brightness that way. Let it cool to room temperature. Do not serve it hot from the pot. Take it out an hour before serving. It should be cool rather than cold.
7. Spoon it out into a shallow dish. Scatter chopped parsley over the top. Serve warm flatbread alongside it. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• Bzeit means in oil and names a whole category of dishes — green beans, okra, broad beans, chard, artichokes — cooked in generous olive oil and eaten cooled; they are substantial without meat, dairy or eggs, which is why they fill the Eastern Christian fasting periods.
• The beans are cooked until genuinely soft with no bite left at all, which is deliberate rather than a fault: forty minutes is not too long, and twenty leaves them too firm. The softening is what lets them absorb the oil and tomato, which is the whole point.
• It is eaten at room temperature rather than hot, since the flavours come together and the oil settles around the beans as it cools; refrigeration solidifies the olive oil, so take it out an hour before serving.

Substitutions

• Flat romano beans are traditional and absorb the sauce better, though round green beans work.
• The same method cooks okra, broad beans, chard, artichokes or peas.

Variations

• Some cooks leave the beans whole and others cut them into short pieces.
• Allspice is added in some households and left out in others.
• It is eaten during Lent and other fasting periods, and at any other time.

History

One of the bzeit family of dishes cooked in oil and eaten at room temperature during Lent and fasting periods.

Frequently asked questions

What is Loubieh bzeit?

Loubieh bzeit is a salad & side from Lebanon: green beans braised soft in olive oil, tomato and garlic, eaten cold. One of the bzeit family of dishes cooked in oil and eaten at room temperature during Lent and fasting periods.

How long does Loubieh bzeit take to make?

Loubieh bzeit takes 20 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Loubieh bzeit?

Yes, within limits. Flat romano beans are traditional and absorb the sauce better, though round green beans work. The same method cooks okra, broad beans, chard, artichokes or peas.

What is the most important thing to get right in Loubieh bzeit?

Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it cook for about forty minutes. Forty minutes is not too long. Stir it gently every ten minutes. Do not stir it hard at any point. Turn them over rather than stirring. Judging when it is done takes a taste.